Please check out our website www.lowcarbdiabetic.co.uk We created and maintain this site without any help from anyone else. In doing so, we do not receive direct or indirect funding from anyone. We do not accept money or favours to manipulate the evidence in any way. Please visit our Low Carb food and recipe blog www.lowcarbdietsandrecipes.blogspot.com

Don’t you just love grandchildren? Well I do. They bring so much joy. I can remember my dear mum exchanging so many different stories with her friends about her grandchildren as I am now doing about mine. Of course, Grandad’s do to …Eddie has a ball with them …but then he’s a big kid too LOL !

Here we have a younger version of Arnold Schwarzenegger, (minus the guns etc). In the first picture I have visions of him saying …hang on Grandma, I’ll just put my shades on! And in the second picture - well that smile says it all.

Hope you’re all finding time to 'chillout' … and if you’re wondering what “I’ll be back” means. It is the well known catchphrase associated with a certain Mr. Schwarzenegger, which he first used in his role title from the 1984 science fiction film ‘Terminator’ - and in every one of his films since…….makes you wonder how much he’s earned using those three simple words?

Food does not get any-more healthier than this. We are often told a Mediterranean diet is good for us. We are told oily fish is heart protective. We know low carb and staying away from highly processed carbohydrate foods is the way to control type two diabetes and lose weight. Anyone want to give me an argument ? And to think some say low carb is not sustainable long term, and many dietitians say this is bad. But not my Dietitian friend Franziska Spritzler who can be found here.

Imagine meeting a guy that is shovelling painkillers down his neck, while hitting himself on the head with a bat. You stop him and ask what are you up to, and he says if I hit my head with a bat it hurts, so I take the pain killers to stop the pain. The only sane option is throw away the bat and you don’t need the painkillers. This is exactly the same with diabetes medication for most type two diabetics.

All type two diabetics are insulin resistant, because of this insulin levels go up, the more insulin levels go up, the more insulin resistant you become, makes sense, yes. Don’t forget a heavily overweight diabetic (and 80% of type two’s are overweight at diagnosis) can have up to three times the plasma/blood insulin levels of a slim non diabetic. This is not good. Insulin in high levels is highly toxic.

How do you bring down plasma insulin levels ? by eating foods that do not raise insulin levels. Fat has very little if any insulin raising capability, protein raises insulin levels and highly refined carbohydrates take insulin levels through the roof. The remedy, high fat, moderate protein and low carb. This brings down insulin levels, over time (it can vary depending on time a diabetic and other factors) when insulin levels come down, your body becomes less insulin resistant, insulin resistance is what the disease is all about. No insulin resistance, no type two diabetes. It really is that simple.

If you have a weight problem or type two diabetes, stop hitting yourself on the head with a bat. The same goes for type one diabetics. Eat the foods that raise BG the least and reduce your medication. Most type one diabetics that have truly great control, follow Dr Richard Bernstein's power of small numbers regime. The less the carbs, the less the insulin, the less the insulin the less the margin of error, and very often the less the weight problems, and less chance for a type one diabetic becoming a ‘double diabetic’ The last thing you want as a type one, is to end up with the metabolic grief of a type two.

Fasting or low carb, the choice is yours. Check out this video. Another great presentation by Dr. Jason Fung. Less or no meds is the way to reverse your diabetes type two. More drugs and insulin will only make your diabetes worse FACT ! Eddie

Sunday, 30 March 2014

Once you’ve mastered the technique of searing scallops, the world is your “scallop” so to speak. The scallops are perfect just as they are, with perhaps a squirt of lemon. Or you can take them a notch higher, as we’ve done here with this sauce of browned butter, white wine, lemon zest, and capers.

The browned butter enhances the natural butteriness of the scallops, while the wine, lemon, and capers help cut through the richness of the scallops. Enjoy!

Another great recipe and food idea from Simply Recipes. Full recipe and instructions can be found here.

Yes, scallops are not cheap! Special event coming up ...then maybe this recipe just fits the bill?

Is saturated fat from animal products or dairy bad for your heart NO it protects the heart. Will these fats cause more strokes NO far less chance of a stroke. Is low cholesterol good for your health NO check out the video at around ten minutes, the Doctor states in older people tracked over 14 years, for each drop of 1 mmol total cholesterol, the death rate increases over 400% ! A great video well worth your time. It could change your life. Just about everything we have been told about fats is completely wrong. Is a low fat diet healthy NO it turns out it is very unhealthy ! Eddie

Sunday, 30th March, and here in the UK it’s Mothering Sunday. For many weeks the shops, supermarkets, restaurants etc had been advertising the fact, and encouraging us to spend our money…buy our cards and gifts, book a table at the local restaurant. Of course all need to make a living, but honestly hasn’t this Mothers Day Celebration become a little too commercial?

From various pieces on the ‘internet’ news I believe it’s been International Woman’s Day recently. This seemed to cause various discussion, some disagreement - I didn’t pay too much attention to it. Was this good or bad? I’m not sure but for me the day came and went and I got on with ‘life’.

To me … Yes, it is nice to celebrate Mother’s, Mums, Mummies - Day whatever you wish to call your Mother. But do we need a special day? Surely every day should be special ?

You then have women that aren’t Mothers. A few years ago an acquaintance got quite cross about the fact we were having a family get-together and wouldn’t be seeing her on this particular Sunday. Was this our fault? Were we being thoughtless? You can see both sides of the question. How could one day to mark a special person cause dismay?

I love receiving cards from my children, and yes it is nice to receive gifts but this is not compulsory. A Mothers Love should be given freely and unconditionally. The love and respect between family members should also be given freely and unconditionally. Some families have a better relationship than others - sad but true.

I looked up ‘Mother’s Day’ on Wiki. a good and helpful ‘friend‘. Here is a little insight into Mothers Day, just a few words from the article but quite interesting….

“Mother's Day is a celebration honouring mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, ……. It complements Fathers Day, a similar celebration honouring fathers.

The modern holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. She then began a campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States. Although she was successful in 1914, she was already disappointed with its commercialization by the 1920s. Jarvis' holiday was adopted by other countries and it is now celebrated all over the world. In this tradition, each person offers a gift, card, or remembrance toward their mothers, grandmothers, and/ or maternal figure on mother's day…..”

For me ‘Mothers Day’ is commercialised…Yes everyone has to make a living but a Mothers Love is unconditional. As Mother’s we may like to be perfect, we may wish we were ’Superwoman’ but in reality we do fall short sometimes, we shouldn’t feel guilt as many do. As human beings we may make mistakes, the important thing is to tell our children we love them, and we do our very best to support and be there for them.

You and your family may well sit down and get together today or at least sometime over the weekend .. It may have been easier to get together on the Saturday, perhaps with other pressures a ‘Happy Mothers Day’ phone call may be received…..

For some they may not be so fortunate………

‘Another Mother's Day is here,Bringing joy and pleasures new,On this special day, Mother dear,I want to remember you’

Happy Mothers Day to All … and thanks to my boys, and the little'uns, I love you.

Saturday, 29 March 2014

It's amazing how many musicians and artists have been influenced by Black musicians and composers. Here's a man that owes much to people who were stars before he was born. I had the good fortune to see Eric live at the Albert Hall together with the mega drummer playing here, the American Steve Gadd.

Jan and myself have lived and worked together for close on 20 years. Can you imagine putting up with me 24/7, a fate worse than death you maybe thinking, and you may well be right. Anyway, due to some family business, she has been away for the last few days, bliss for me and her. But there is a downside.

I forgot to take my diabetes meds, the exercise went out of the window, and the place turned into a complete slum, pronto. Until I got the phone call from Jan saying "I will be home in a couple of hours". Jeez I did not know I could move so fast. The garbage into the outside rubbish bins, the bed made and a huge pile of washing up done. Out with the hoover and dusters, all the empties into the outside re-recycle bin, and a quick shower and a shave, all windows open to cut down the stench.

OK I have to admit, I am one of those geezers who needs a good woman to kick my butt and keep me on the straight and narrow, so what’s new.A man needs a maid.

One of the best dance tracks of all time ? I reckon it is, take me on, ask me if I care. It's Saturday night and I don't give a monkeys. One of my little fitness techniques is to leap about my gaff with a dumbbell in each hand (fairly light) dancing to this track. At almost 65 years of age, I can still punch above my weight LOL Eddie

OK, you want it more up-market and high brow, check out one of the finest musicians of all time. A fantastic vid full of fun, but stupendous musicianship. Disabled people are a real liability, then again maybe not. This is as good as it gets, please watch this video. Eddie

This is what I fight for a 'Revolution' Dump the high carb crap and processed foods eat whole fresh foods, get off your butt and kick useless meds into touch wherever possible. "finely the tables are starting to turn" Junk food and big pharma are only interested in your money, they want you to live, sort of. Eddie

Hat tip to Indy Jill again. This is a must watch video, well worth your time.This is the best video I have ever seen in the explanation of why we become over weight with it's often linked type two diabetes and metabolic dysfunction. Eddie

"There's not a wide-spread refusal, many people take statins without any problems and many are on this forum."Link to the BS Here.Most comments on the forum are highly negative regarding statins, many have reported serious side effects FACT. BTW Nobhead has stated more than once he does not use them. Is he a meds salesman ? probably not, good salesman are usually highly intelligent.Eddie

As from today all new negative anonymous comments will be deleted. Of course we welcome positive anonymous comments. We also welcome intelligent anonymous comments from people that want a sound debate and question what we believe to be the best way to control diabetes. Make no mistake, we are more than happy to be challenged.

As readers will have noticed around 99% of negative anon comments are complete and utter dross. I can’t remember a single anon comment that taught us anything or added to the debate. So. why have we authorised them for so long. Various reasons, nothing could have illustrated better the pitiful argument the antis throw at us, as I said the comments have been dross and would not have taxed a lobotomised chimp. Secondly, we believe to a certain extent any publicity is good publicity and the miscreants who post anonymous dross have helped our blog cause enormously, as they have also done on the DCUK forum.

Sure, the old Kenny aka Cugila clique remnants comprising of Phoenix, Catherinecherub, Noblehead, Sid Bonkers et al (who believe it is their forum) and a few of the relatively new low carb antis have got countless threads locked and members banned, but hey, what have they achieved ?

Have they kicked low carb off the forum ? Have they been able to produce a long line of success stories ? Do many people on the forum believe eating a high carb diet (for a diabetic) and covering the eating of junk and poor nutrient content foods, and more meds, is the way to good diabetes control ? Not a chance ! The only people the antis fool, is the newbie or confused. Experienced diabetics, and straight thinkers see straight through the clique, the only people who can't see it, are the clique.

In over five years of reading and posting on the DCUK forum, I have never seen so much good and positive low carb high fat news on the forum. As posted on this blog the other day, the main DCUK site have a wonderfully positive page regarding low carb diets for diabetics. In the media, every day we are seeing high sugar foods (which also means high carb) foods getting a kicking. High quality natural fats are not the bad guys as also reported heavily.

So, thank you to all the people who have helped our blog, the low carb team, Kath, Geri, Jan, Paul, Graham and John, the positive commenter's, a special thanks to people who email us with links to great information (Indy Jill you're a star) big appreciation for the forum members who post on this blog under forum names, including Brett and a few others that don’t always agree with me and Graham. Our team are not yes men and women, we don’t expect anyone else to be, take us on, but as I say again, the days of meaningless snide comments are over at this blog.

A thank you to the low carb antis, yes you read that right ! Without the constant sniping at low carbers and their way of life and method of diabetes control, without the ludicrous negativity, without your lunacy, the forum would be a very dull place. Let’s face it, who done more for the low carb cause in the early days of the forum than ‘the resident dietitian’ Another point should also be made, without the antis and their treachery bringing about the banning of Graham, John, myself and other people that help us, including type two diabetic and low carb expert Dr Jay Wortman no less, this blog would never had been started.

Last and biggest thank you to our readers, without you folks we would have folded the blog up a long time ago, thank you for taking this blog to well on its way to a million page views.

Welcome to the crazy world of diabetes.

Have a great weekend

Eddie

Our other sites

Our website aimed at newly diagnosed and long term out of control type two diabetics.

Melt 40g butter in a deep casserole, add 450g cubed lamb (a tender cut, such as leg or fillet) and leave it to colour lightly for a few minutes over a moderate to high heat. Tossing it from time to time will help it colour evenly on all sides. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Peel 250g of small onions or shallots, keeping them whole but halving any that are bigger than an unshelled walnut. Add them to the casserole and let them brown lightly, tossing them occasionally so that they colour evenly.

Return the lamb and any of its juices that have escaped to the pan. Dust two tablespoons of plain flour over the meat and onions and cook for a minute or two, stirring from time to time.

Turn up the heat and pour in 150ml white wine. Leave the wine to bubble away until it is reduced by half, scraping at the crusty bits on the base of the pan with a wooden spatula as you go. Pour in 800ml hot stock (it can be vegetable, lamb or even chicken) and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and leave to simmer, partly covered, for about 30 minutes, until the meat is tender but still has plenty of bite.

Slice 300g asparagus spears into two or three short lengths and add to the pan with salt and pepper. Continue cooking for about five minutes, until the asparagus is tender. Stir in 200ml crème fraîche and a handful of chervil leaves. Check the seasoning and serve. Calm cooking for a spring day.

From The Little Book of Fast Food by Nigel Slater

Recipe taken from Telegraphhere.Leave out the flour for a great, easy to make low carb meal.

High self-management index -- low mortality340 study participants with type 2 diabetes were interviewed with regard to their patient behavior -- e.g. regular monitoring of blood glucose levels, having a diet plan or performing physical exercise. Based on this data a self-management index was defined. The team led by Professor Rolf Holle and Michael Laxy correlated the index with the mortality of the participants, who were monitored over a period of 12 years. The analysis showed that patients with good diabetes self-management, that is patients with a high self-management index, had a significantly lower mortality risk than patients with a low self-management index. This association exists independent of other factors that can influence mortality, such as age, sex, comorbidities or medication.

Active participation of the patient in the treatment is important

"The results show that in addition to physician delivered treatment according to medical guidelines, the patient's behavior is also of great significance for the course of the disease and for the success of the treatment process ," said Holle, group leader of the research group Economic Evaluation at the IGM. "Patient-centered services, such as diabetes education, self-management training and information services therefore make a valuable contribution to good patient care and should continue to be expanded."

Friday, 28 March 2014

If you watched the video, and have read the latest studies and papers on injected insulin, for type two diabetics, I think you will agree it is a real eye opener. The information now coming to light is no surprise to me. Over five years ago while reading Dr. Richard Bernstein's books and papers I read this. A heavily overweight type two diabetic can have up to three times the plasma insulin levels of a none diabetic. That hit me like a diamond bullet between the eyes. I had been thinking I was not making enough Insulin hence the extremely high blood glucose numbers. OK I knew insulin resistance was a big part of the equation, but clearly my system was awash with insulin. One of the tests he always carries out on his new type two patients is a plasma insulin level test. The NHS do not do this, for reasons of cost. This test can be so informative, for obvious reasons, and in my opinion should be done when HbA1c tests etc at the point diabetes is suspected. An R and R interval study test is another Bernstein corner stone, again not done by the NHS, this test can tell how far diabetic complications may or not have progressed. Again not done by the NHS.So, we have a situation for someone like me, blood glucose levels at diagnosis so high no drugs could get me to a safe position. Only insulin could have got me from HbA1c twelve to mid fives. Insulin would have been a disaster as the the video shows in no uncertain terms. More insulin more insulin resistance, leading to more insulin needed and the never ending viscous circle. Only a low carb diet could have reduced my BG to non diabetic. Not only that, but spared me all the side effects and added risks of injected insulin. There are a hundred and one other reasons insulin should be the last resort. I will save that stuff for another day.One point should be noted, current knowledge says the risk for type two diabetics injecting insulin is dose dependent. As was discussed in the locked DCUK thread referred to in my earlier post. So, how does a type two who has no choice other than to use insulin keep doses small ? Back to our old friend the low carb lifestyle and some moderate exercise. BTW Type one diabetics can become insulin resistant, this is known as double diabetes and is very difficult to control. As always the less the carbs, the less the insulin, the less the insulin the greater the control and minimal side effects from insulin toxicity.You all know it make sense, why fight it !To be continued.Eddie

"I sent you a link to another video today which more or less confirms that the only "good" diabetes drugs are Metformin, Januvia and Acarbose - with a question mark still over the DPP-4 class - and agreeing with everything you've always said about insulin for type 2s."

Some time ago at the DCUK forum a thread was started called 'recent Insulin study' linked below. This was referring to new information regarding Insulin and type two diabetics. As for over five years, the low carb antis came out of the woodwork. Phoenix, Catherinecherub, Noblehead, Sid Bonkers et al. It was a great thread very informative. The antis realised immediately it made a mockery of their thousands of posts regarding low carb anti activity, and shovel the carbs down and take the meds. As we have seen so many times over the years, the thread was locked. Just what the antis wanted. It was locked by a non diabetic forum manager who said.

"Thread closed. This isn't the place to be scaremongering and dishing out potentially dangerous information" Giverny

This was not dangerous information, it was 100% accurate information as can be seen by watching the amazing video sent to me by Indy Jill. The only danger the locked thread posed, was to the low carb antis. It completely destroyed, much of what they have been saying for years, in their constant meddling in type two diabetic business and threads. As you would expect, I will be saying a lot more on this situation. But in the meantime watch the video. Please be warned you will be hearing a lot of truths, the last thing Phoenix et al want you to hear. Eddie

Thursday, 27 March 2014

Jodi Corbitt had been battling depression for decades and by 2010 had resigned herself to taking antidepressant medication for the rest of her life. Then she decided to start a dietary experiment.

To lose weight, the 47-year-old Catonsville, Md., mother stopped eating gluten, a protein found in wheat and related grains. Within a month she had shed several pounds — and her lifelong depression.

“It was like a veil lifted and I could see life more clearly,” she recalled. “It changed everything.”

Corbitt had stumbled into an area that scientists have recently begun to investigate: whether food can have as powerful an impact on the mind as it does on the body.

Research exploring the link between diet and mental health “is a very new field; the first papers only came out a few years ago,” said Michael Berk, a professor of psychiatry at the Deakin University School of Medicine in Australia. “But the results are unusually consistent, and they show a link between diet quality and mental health.”

“Diet quality” refers to the kinds of foods that people eat, how often they eat them and how much of them they eat. In several studies, including a 2011 analysis of more than 5,000 Norwegians, Berk and his collaborators have found lower rates of depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder among those who consumed a traditional diet of meat and vegetables than among people who followed a modern Western diet heavy with processed and fast foods or even a health-food diet of tofu and salads.

“Traditional diets — the kinds of foods your grandmother would have recognized — have been associated with a lower risk of mental health issues,” Berk said. Interestingly, that traditional diet may vary widely across cultures, including wheat for some people but not for others; the common element seems to be whole, unprocessed, nutrient-dense foods.

The association between diet and mental well-being may start even before birth. A 2013 study of more than 23,000 mothers and their children, led by Berk’s frequent collaborator and Deakin colleague Felice Jacka, suggests a link between a mother’s consumption of sweets and processed foods during pregnancy and behavioral and mental health issues in her child at age 5.

Not clear how it works

It’s unclear how diet relates to mental health, said Rif El-Mallakh, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. “There seems to be a clear link, but it’s an association — it doesn’t tell you cause and effect,” he said. “We don’t know which is the chicken and which is the egg.”

It could be, he said, that mood disorders change how and what people choose to eat.

But an alternate theory is that the relationship works the other way: Certain foods, or their absence, may contribute to poor mental health. For example, studies in people and ratshave linked zinc deficiency to depression. Also, illnesses that cause deficiencies — includingceliac disease, an autoimmune disease in which the body reacts to gluten — have shown associations with mood disorders.

“There’s a two-way street between what’s going on in the gut and what’s going on in the brain,” said Linda A. Lee, director of the Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center — and recent research points to bacteria as possible middlemen in this back-and-forth. Gut bacteria are known to make most of the body’s serotonin, one of several chemicals that regulate mood, and the bugs may even have a hand in shaping behavior. A2011 study in mice for example, showed that swapping the gut bacteria of two strains of mice — one known for its daring behavior, the other for its fearfulness and shyness — could make the timid mice more willing to explore and the bold mice more anxious and hesitant.

Gut bacteria

Of course, mice are not men, but changing diet has been shown to change human gut bacteria, and fairly quickly. That suggests it’s possible that dietary choices can alter well-being and behavior, Lee said, but researchers aren’t yet sure if this complex interplay means that swapping food in or out of one’s diet can ease or cure a mental illness.

“We’re not at the point where we can use diet as therapy, especially when we’re dealing with someone whose mental health issues render them very disabled, because we just don’t know enough,” Lee said. “I think we’re just on the new frontier, and five or 10 years from now we’ll know more.”

Jacka, president of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research, echoes these reservations. She notes that nearly all research on the connection between diet and mental health has been limited to animal studies and observational studies in humans.

“We can’t say [that] if we improve your diet, you’ll feel better,” she said. “We have circumstantial evidence that suggests this could be true, but we can’t say for sure.”

The lack of strong evidence and well-designed studies has led to some resistance to Berk’s and Jacka’s work. Until recently, “the idea that what you put in your mouth could affect your mental health was met with great skepticism,” said Jacka, who recalled colleagues’ dismissing the idea as “rubbish.” With more studies, though, the research community is beginning to come around, she said.

Even as scientists struggle to understand the link between food and mood, some patients, such as Corbitt, seem to tap into it without intending to.

She saw a link

“I changed my diet because I had gastrointestinal issues,” said a 32-year-old woman with bipolar disorder who lives in San Francisco and asked not to be named because she worries about being stigmatized. Three years ago, at her gastroenterologist’s urging, she tried the Atkins diet and found relief — not just from her digestive issues but also from her mental illness, which had at one point nearly derailed her life.

“I noticed within a day or two the marked difference in my head,” she recalled. “It felt clear for the first time in years and years.”

That may seem like a surprisingly quick turnaround, but Jacka said it is not out of the question. “We know from animal studies and a human study that a poor diet can impair memory and attention within a week,” she said.

The woman no longer takes the medication prescribed to treat her bipolar disorder, and she said she has remained stable for the past three years. She said she has sought out psychiatric and neurological researchers across the country, hoping to share her experience and to learn what they know, but has found little interest and few studies.

“It surprised me how little information was out there, because for me it was life-changing,” she said. “I wanted to validate the experience I was having, and to make sure that everything I was doing was safe. That’s how I found Dr. El-Mallakh.”

El-Mallakh had hypothesized in 2001 that a ketogenic diet — a high-fat, moderate-protein and low-carbohydrate diet often used to control epileptic seizures and nearly identical to the diet adopted by the 32-year-old woman — could be helpful for bipolar disorder, because many of the medications that work for bipolar disorder have anti-seizure properties.

After being contacted by the woman, El-Mallakh found several other people with bipolar disorder who said they were benefiting from a ketogenic diet. Last year,he published two case studies of its apparent effectiveness. His report drew interest from people with the mental illness, but efforts at Stanford University to test the diet with a controlled trial failed to recruit enough participants.

Without such studies, El-Mallakh acknowledged that no one can say how the diet might quell the symptoms of bipolar disorder. With his own patients, herecommends it only alongside mood-stabilizing medications. Despite his own willingness to supplement mental health treatment with dietary changes, El-Mallakh remains skeptical that diet alone can heal the mind.

“There are a lot of people out there who call themselves depressed who aren’t actually depressed,” he said. “I think people confuse low energy with depression, or sugar crashes with mood swings, but they probably don’t have a mental illness. And those people may do better with dietary interventions alone.”

And even if diet can do the trick, providers don’t yet know how to use it effectively or safely. The problem, El-Mallakh said, is that mental illness is still poorly understood. Eventually, he hopes, the connection between food and mental health could benefit researchers who study mental illness as well as those who live with it.

Experimenting with change

Berk and Jacka areconducting the most comprehensivecontrolled study yet, involving 176 people, of whether dietary intervention can help ease depression, but they don’t yet have results. For now, Berk advocates an integrative approach to treating mental illness that includes experimenting with changes in diet and exercise along with more traditional treatments.

“For a mood disorder like depression, there are hundreds if not thousands of risk pathways that all contribute to the disorder,” Berk said. “Targeting one factor doesn’t target all the factors that cause someone to develop depression. That’s why you need to develop an integrated package of care as the norm.”

That time can’t come soon enough for Corbitt.

“This was such a simple solution,” she said. “I could have saved myself a lot of money and a lot of misery if someone had asked about my diet 15 years ago. My life could have been different.”

You just can’t beat that crisp bite of a hard biscuit with a lovely tasting cheese. Either as a snack or as an after dinner dish.

Our local supermarket had Boursin Cheese on their special offer deal ‘buy one - get one free’ …well regular readers know I just love those sorts of deals.

We bought Boursin with herbs and Boursin with Black Pepper. The one with herbs was pleasant, the one with black pepper SUPERB ! In fact it tasted so good we just had to photograph it.. alas the box is now empty !

We enjoyed a couple of melba toast each with a smothering of the cheese, these particular toasts are 2.5g carb per biscuit … so well within our LCHF menu plan.

Of course keeping a packet of these melba toast in your cupboard is handy but you could always make your own ‘flaxseed crisp breads’ see recipe here.

"Being overweight is increasingly seen as the norm, England's chief medical officer says.

In her annual report on the state of health, Dame Sally Davies said this was concerning, pointing out many people did not recognise they had a problem. Parents of overweight children were also failing to spot the signs too, she said. Dame Sally blamed the way weight was being portrayed by the media and clothes industry.

Dame Sally also reiterated her belief that a sugar tax may be necessary to combat obesity.

At the start of March she told the Health Select Committee it may be needed, although she hoped not.

This caused some controversy as the government's approach has been characterised by working with industry to get them to make food and drink products healthier."

Dame Sally also reiterated her belief that a sugar tax may be necessary to combat obesity. That being the case why does the NHS and BDA recommend a diet based on......err SUGAR! Carbs means SUGAR!

"This is a great way to feed the family as the chicken and veg are all cooked in one very large tray in the oven. It takes only minutes to put everything together then it sits in the oven for under an hour with no fussy finishing off to do and only one pan to wash up.The recipe allows one chicken thigh and one drumstick per person, but use less if you are not such big eaters.I love stuffed olives, but use plain green or black ones if you prefer.The preserved lemons really give a lovely citrus tang to the dish and are well worth using but if you can’t find them use one sliced lemon instead."

Replace the potatoes with celeriac, and you'll have a delicious low carb meal. Perfect for a family gathering.

This is a link to a lecture by Prof. Roy Taylor. Some years ago I watched a video which was pretty depressing, basically Roy was saying type two diabetes was always progressive, full stop. Now as you will see he says it is reversible. This is by way of a severe calorie restriction, known as the Newcastle diet. Roy says it is all down to calories, what is not addressed is what happens when a person goes back to the sort of calorie intake that lead to the excess weight that contributed to their diabetes. This is an important factor because many will go back to the calorie intake before the reversal of their diabetes. As many of our long term low carb high fat friends know, you can reverse diabetes without low calorie diets. As he makes very clear in the presentation, exercise is useless for weight loss. It appears we have a choice, starvation for 8 weeks and then I don't know, (if I missed something please let me know), or low carb high fat. You can of course go the big pharma route, and fail to reverse your type diabetes.One thing is great to hear, one the UK's leading diabetes experts says "diabetes is reversible" but of course us low carbers knew that years ago. Six years into diabetes I am still running non diabetic blood glucose numbers, no big deal, because so are the many other type two diabetics I know or know of, all low carbers as you would expect. And how many are on a strict calorie or low calorie regime, none.Onwards and downwards as Geri would say, BG numbers that is.Eddiehttp://www.fend-lectures.org/index.php?menu=view&id=94

Wednesday, 26 March 2014

With all the controversy of Zohydro (a powerful drug for chronic pain that is about to be launched into the market, with FDA approval despite an 11-2 vote against it by independent experts), the field of electroceuticals has been launched back into the news.

20 years ago researchers discovered that stimulating the vagus nerve puts brakes on the immune system - the source of pain and inflammation, and invented the field of bioelectronics to develop alternatives to drugs to manipulate the nervous system. "Electroceuticals" are the result.

A big player in the field of electroceuticals is GlaxoSmithKlein who are pumping money in the area. They reckon that bioelectrical medicines "could potentially coax insulin from cells to treat diabetes, regulate food intake to treat obesity and correct balances in smooth muscle tone to treat hypertension and pulmonary disease".

But using electricity to treat pain and other conditions is not new. Defibrillators and pacemakers are both alternatives to drugs that use electrical stimulation to treat irregular heartbeats. Other examples are deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease, or Cochlear Implants which directly stimulate the auditory nervous system.

Another example of electroceuticals is ActiPatch, a battery powered "band aid" that goes directly on the skin at the source of the pain, to reduce inflammation after facial surgery, or chronic pain in the knees, hips, shoulders or back. It works by sending pulses of electromagnetic energy to the target area, and has been found to give superior results to heat wraps or various NSAIDS.

It's clear that we need to make a step away from pharmaceuticals in many of the big diseases that are threatening our lifespans, and if we can manipulate our nervous systems with simple electronic pulses, it's worth investigating further.

My brother was scanning some old photographs today, and sent me a few, the first photo around 40 years ago, before time, age and decrepitude crept up on me. I had forgotten how good looking I was when I was young LOL. I never had an issue with weight, and diets never crossed my mind, until I became a diabetic (5 years ago to the day on Monday) and obese. At diagnosis I weighed over two hundred pounds and at 5ft 7” that is obese I can tell you. Last year my wife took the second pic. Over 50lbs lighter. And four years on 50 carbs per day diet. Looking back at the old photograph, I appear to be in better shape 40 years on. As I often tell people, type two diabetes can be a life sentence, not a death sentence. It certainly kicked me up the butt.

Eddie

I have to admit, since that photograph was taken I have put on around ten lbs. I only posted it up again to prove I hide from no one, not like the gutless anons that refuse to post even a forum anon name. I will meet any one any time to chew the fat, once they have proved they are genuine.

Eddie Mitchell who can be contacted at the lowcarbdiabetic@aol.com and still annoying all the right people.

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We are a small band of diabetics all low carbers. Posting links to diabetes related articles and low carb food advice. In our spare time we like to lampoon the spreaders of fear and misinformation. Welcome to the crazy world of diabetes.